Femme Frontera Workshops

We believe that filmmaking should be accessible to everyone. As a result, Femme Frontera organizes a number of workshops designed to engage filmmakers of all levels and backgrounds. Scroll down to browse our workshops and register!

Young filmmakers and artists, ages 8 to 12, will create short 1 to 3 minute movies with the use of green screen, lights, and smart devices. They will also have the opportunity make paper masks with paper maché and other props for their projects. Students will learn basic lighting techniques with the use of a green screen backdrop, basic editing on a smart device, and how to create fictional character masks with the use of newspaper, water, and glue. Students, with parents’ or guardian’s permission, may borrow their smartphone or tablet. Purchasing one for the child isn’t necessary.

Students who wish to participate in the 2023 Femme Frontera Children’s Showcase in September 2023 may share their films with the general public at that time.

Dates: July 10th - 14th, 2023 12 pm - 2 pm MST

Location: IN PERSON. Will send details via email.

Cost: Free (We do ask for a $20 deposit to hold the spot but it is refundable after the class is over.)

Instructor: Manuel Urueta is a human being from the border of the United States and Mexico, in El Paso TX. He is a multidisciplinary creator and has collaborated on multiple projects among the Bordertown. Manuel has taken several classes related to how to create a movie, and has always been fascinated with colors. As an actor and director Manuel has created original material and as well has worked in different fields amongst productions. He is also owner of Xingaderas, a brand of paper mache creatures that are inspired by various forms of alebrijes and textures.

INTRO TO ANIMATION (BEGINNER LEVEL)

Young filmmakers, ages 12 to 17, will learn some of the basic introductory concepts in animation - applicable to hand-drawn, stop-motion, or even computer animation. We will be learning how to get our drawings moving the first week. The second week, students will focus on a project that they develop using the principles learned. The course aims to keep the principles and execution simple and accessible. Students, with parents’ or guardian’s permission, may borrow their smartphone or tablet. Purchasing one for the child isn’t necessary.

Students who wish to participate in the 2023 Femme Frontera Children’s Showcase in September 2023 may share their films with the general public at that time.

Dates:  July 10th - 21st, 2023 2 pm - 3 pm MST

Location: Online only. Will send details via email.

Cost: Free (We do ask for a $20 deposit to hold the spot but it is refundable after the class is over.)

Animation Instructor: Zach Passero is a native of El Paso. He attended USC Cinema School, focusing on Film/TV Production and Animation. Since then, he has been working as a director, editor and animator for films, television, and commercials. He is currently working on his hand-drawn animated feature film, The Weird Kidz, starring Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood) and Angela Bettis (May, Girl Interrupted).

CREW 101

Learn how a professional movie set works during our CREW 101 workshop. A scene from the Screenwriting Workshop will be selected and filmed during CREW 101. Each participant will have a role and will learn the different responsibilities in a movie production.

DATES: 9/27/2023 - 9/28/2023

LOCATION: 801 S Florence St, El Paso, TX 79901

Cost: Free

Instructor: Celina Galicia is a Director of Photography, Art Director, and Producer from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. She studied Communication and Digital Media at the Tecnológico de Monterrey CD. She has been part of film collectives in Juárez and El Paso TX. She has worked in different advertising agencies as a DP, Editor and Director. In the last 6 years she has independently developed different projects including music videos, short documentaries and narrative short films. In 2020 she completed her first short film Cenicero de Dios as a Director which was selected in several film festivals and won 2nd place at the Plaza Classic Film Festival in 2021. She is currently working in the production team of a Netflix series being filmed in El Paso, Texas.

ADULT WORKSHOPS

SMART DEVICE FILMMAKING 101 (BEGINNER LEVEL)

Our 2-day workshop (2 hours each day) embraces a fierce DIY approach to filmmaking. We want participants to leave knowing that they can begin creating a film that day simply by pulling a device out from their pockets. Participants will create a professional looking video by practicing proper camera framing techniques, experimenting with natural lighting techniques, and learning the basics of editing using a film editing app compatible with both Apple and Android devices. Must have access to - smartphone or tablet, and separate video call device to join class with. 

Dates: July 29 - 30, 2023 Saturday & Sunday - 1 pm to 3 pm MST

Location: Online only. Will send details via email.

COST: $30 USD

Instructor: Celina Galicia is a Director of Photography, Art Director, and Producer from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. She studied Communication and Digital Media at the Tecnológico de Monterrey CD. She has been part of film collectives in Juárez and El Paso TX. She has worked in different advertising agencies as a DP, Editor and Director. In the last 6 years she has independently developed different projects including music videos, short documentaries and narrative short films. In 2020 she completed her first short film Cenicero de Dios as a Director which was selected in several film festivals and won 2nd place at the Plaza Classic Film Festival in 2021. She is currently working in the production team of a Netflix series being filmed in El Paso, Texas.

Paper Maché Mask Making for Adults

Dates: July 8 - 9, 2023 Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 12 pm MST

Location: In person. Will send details via email.

Instructor: Manuel Urueta is a human being from the border of the United States and Mexico, in El Paso TX. He is a multidisciplinary creator and has collaborated on multiple projects among the Bordertown. Manuel has taken several classes related to how to create a movie, and has always been fascinated with colors. As an actor and director Manuel has created original material and as well has worked in different fields amongst productions. He is also owner of Xingaderas, a brand of paper mache creatures that are inspired by various forms of alebrijes and textures.

COST: $40

Screenwriting (narrative)

Learn the basics of screenwriting from structure to creative freedom. Develop your idea into a script for a short film.

Dates: June 24, June 25, July 1, and July 2, 2023 at 10am-12 pm MST

Location: Online only. Will send details via email.

Instructor: Isha is an award-winning writer and multidisciplinary creative from Colorado living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a writer, her work focuses on entertainment, politics, and race, and her work has appeared in Splinter, Jezebel, and the Juggernaut. She has developed and written webseries like What in Tarnation, a political commentary show for Splinter, and The .WAV a pop culture commentary show for Fuse. Isha currently works as the Food Storytelling Programs Manager at Three Sisters Kitchen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

COST: $100

Documentary Class with a focus on Surveillance

Flipping the Gaze: Restorative Filmmaking Techniques unpacks what happens when we take technology such as the camera–which has historically been used to oppress communities through surveillance and perpetuate harmful tropes via mainstream media–and flip the gaze to reclaim historical perspectives that would otherwise be erased.  

It surveys films that use the camera to confront surveillance, but ultimately becomes a case study on memory as a lens/gaze through which we may de-internalize from the lens/gaze of surveillance. I use my Blue Veil  as a personal case study on this topic and use prompts to encourage filmmakers to reflect on how or whether their cinematic processes may de-internalize surveillance through image and sound making.

DATES: - July 15, 22, & 29, 2023 11 am- 1 pm MST

LOCATION: Online only. Will send details via email.

Instructor:  Shireen is an Ecuadorian, Iranian, Muslim, Disabled filmmaker. Her films use the sonic/visual language of memory as a central gaze to de-internalize surveillance and uncensor the imagination. She served as Artist Support for the Islamic Scholarship Fund where she co-created Muslim-Centered film programming; an evolving framework that supports Muslim filmmakers to restore, center and define their narratives. Today she is prototyping a lab for caregivers. 

COST: $100 USD

Taller Gratuito de Redacción de Subvenciones (en Español) MIERCOLES, EL 8 DE FEBRERO DEL 2023 A LAS 11:30 A. M. - 12:30 P.M. (Taller Virtual)

Solicitar una subvención puede ser un proceso desalentador, ¡pero no tiene por qué serlo! Aprenda sobre el proceso de solicitud de subvenciones, qué buscan los otorgantes y cómo comunicar su visión de manera efectiva.

Mariana Góngora, becaria de La Frontera Film Lab 2022, compartirá información importante y mejores prácticas para solicitar cualquier programa de becas, ¡incluyendo las becas de Femme Frontera y el próximo Laboratorio de Femme Frontera (“La Frontera Film Lab”)!

Registrarse Aquí

Grant Writing Workshop (English speaking) FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH, 2023 AT 10 A.M. - 11 A.M. (Virtual)

Applying for a grant can feel like a daunting process but it doesn’t have to be! Learn about the grant application process, what grantors are looking for, and how to communicate your vision effectively.

Xochitl Rodriquez, Femme Frontera’s Director of Development, will share important info and best practices for applying to any grants program, including Femme Frontera’s grants and upcoming La Frontera Film Lab!